The Tung-Sol 5881 is a very reliable, general purpose power tube much like the 6V6. These tubes are available in different grades depending on how much distortion is desired. Matched set.

Soft, medium, and hard style descriptions refer to break up modes of the tube for an overdriven guitar signal. Soft-rated tubes break up easier and have the least headroom, yielding a heavier, harder distortion. In comparison, hard-rated tubes are harder to break up and have the most headroom. Medium-rated tubes fall in between.

Switched out the standard 6V6 tube that comes with my VHT Special 6 guitar amp. Really adds a lot of punch to the sound. Lots of clean headroom. Modest break-up at high volumes. Bright, Fender amp like tone, which is what I was after.

I used these as a drop in replacement for the VHT Special 6 Ultra combo. Noticed a definite increase in clarity from the stock 6V6, and happily also noticed a slight bump in volume and clean headroom when paired with a 12AT7 in the preamp. This tube brought out the Fender-ish characteristics of the amp well. Solid replacement for this particular amp.

I know some people have had problems with the heater fuse on this amp when installing a 5881/6L6 type tube, but this one is driving the amp well with no noticeable overheating. There is also plenty of physical clearance in the amp for this type of tube.

My Fender 57 Twin Reissue came with GT 6L6GE tubes. Nice tubes, very durable and nice tone. I like to experiment. I tried JJ's and SED "Winged C". Nice but not great. Then read up on the Internet, got a multi-meter and bias probes so I could set bias myself. I bought a pair of new Tung Sol 5881 reissues and set the bias at around 32ma (450 volts at the plate). WOW! Tweaked a bit and set them cooler (around 27ma) and they sound even better! I play my amp cranked to 7 or so, plugged straight in, no pedals. These tubes really sing with a rich, rich midrange with plenty of harmonics. Bass is thick but not boomy like a 6L6. Highs are sweet and not shrill. I've had them in now for around 6 months and they are still going strong with weekly rehearsal and/or gigging. Totally satisfied with these. Rich and full when played clean and they just scream when driven into distortion.

This is a great sounding tube! It is rated at 400 volts max on the plates, so putting these in amps with plate voltages way over 400 as previous reviewers have is maybe a testament to the Tungsol 5881 tube quality. I haven't had mine long enough to rate the longevity. If they last, it will be the only power tube my Pro will ever see.

Like so many others ive used the original Tung Sol 5881 for years. They are becoming more and more rare every year. When i tried these i was blown away by their quality. They sound and perform (in my opinion) Just exactly like the originals. These are nearly perfect copies. If you like the 5881 sound, there was never anything better than the Tung Sol and these could have been made right along side those originals. I re - biased my Marshall DSL 50 to use these tubes because they are just the best output tubes being made. If you own a Vintage Modern, SLP or JTM 45 and you dont have the dough for original Mullard KT-66 DEFINATELY give these a try.

I have recently installed a pair into my spider valve combo replacing the sovtech's that came with the amp. They sound better than the sovtechs and are more responsive. A warning though to anyone replacing these on your spider valve combo, the tube is shorter which will provide less tension on the spring harness that keeps the tubes in place. Mine are holding just fine but I am keeping an eye on them just in case.I run a pod Xt3 live through bypassing my preamp, and I can say that the amp models are more amazing with these tubes behind them than ever before. Truly worth every penny I paid for them. I would recommend these tubes to anyone looking for the best in tubes for metal or rock music.

These replaced the Sovtek 5881's in my Line 6 SpiderValve 112 (along with 2 new 12AX7's in the preamp). The SpiderValve is a bit sterile but had a lot of potential for hard rock and numetal. I didn't bother with NOS tubes. I believe Bogner voiced this amp with new production tubes in mind. The new set brought a lot more harmonic complexity and presence to every setting. The notes now decay all the way to a quiet noise floor without the fizzle of the Sovtek's. This simple change brought the amp justover the edge to the "keeper" category now.

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